From your loving and affectionate Elder and
"little" shepherd. To those who have faithful served our Savior and
reached out into the world for the lost. Much grace, peace, and encouragement I
send to you today as I write these words.
I am writing to you today with 4 different thoughts and points in mind. Ultimately I want to encourage you, strive to give you strength, and seek to lead you forward into the way of following and living for Jesus. I know we all live in a world that is broken and full of sin and my hope and prayer is that writing to you today will inspire more to live as you do in your walk and life in Jesus. Being lights in the lost community and showing the world what true love is to one another is a quality that I continually pray, so that together through, the power of the Gospel, we can strive to reach out together.
The first thing I want to write to you about, as the great Apostle Paul did, is to update you on where I am at and how I am doing spiritually as your leader. Being your Pastor over these last few months has been a great joy and blessing in my life. God, through my service with and for you, has truly shown me His great power and amazing beauty. I have come to know the deeper depths of God grace in my life as He continues to refine and stretch me. There have been days and even weeks where I have felt totally overwhelmed and incapable of loving and serving you. But God has continued to remind me through His words that He has called and He is in control and nothing is every outside of His power. My affection for you, I know has come from Christ and I feel His warm welcoming love flowing through me every day to you. That is the only way I can explain the fact that I have continued to fall in love with you all more each day. Loving this body of Christ has been one of my greatest joys, greatest struggles, and richest blessings.
I know and have felt the fact God is in control and has great things in store for us because the darts and temptations of Satan in my life alone have been more than I was prepared for. Only through the grace, mercy, and power of Christ have I withstood many of Satan's attacks. Satan is ready and watching and does not want us or myself to succeed it loving and serving God. I continually pray not only for myself to withstand the attacks of the devil but all the more for you as you seek to live each day in the devil's playground. Only together, under the power and control of God, can we move in following God and resist the ways of the evil one.
I pray for you all daily and hurt when you hurt. I know as we seek the future, only together, will God lead us for His glory. Growing more like our Savior has been a joy each day as you have continued to stretch me with your questions, conflicts, and lives. I pray that I will continue to love you all the more and that God will give me the wisdom that only He can give as I seek to lead and guide us into the future. My love for you grows and I pray and trust the God of love that you, my dear ones will feel my love and compassion for you. Many of you have become my friends and as I walk with you it brings me great joy to live and love with you.
I am writing to you today with 4 different thoughts and points in mind. Ultimately I want to encourage you, strive to give you strength, and seek to lead you forward into the way of following and living for Jesus. I know we all live in a world that is broken and full of sin and my hope and prayer is that writing to you today will inspire more to live as you do in your walk and life in Jesus. Being lights in the lost community and showing the world what true love is to one another is a quality that I continually pray, so that together through, the power of the Gospel, we can strive to reach out together.
The first thing I want to write to you about, as the great Apostle Paul did, is to update you on where I am at and how I am doing spiritually as your leader. Being your Pastor over these last few months has been a great joy and blessing in my life. God, through my service with and for you, has truly shown me His great power and amazing beauty. I have come to know the deeper depths of God grace in my life as He continues to refine and stretch me. There have been days and even weeks where I have felt totally overwhelmed and incapable of loving and serving you. But God has continued to remind me through His words that He has called and He is in control and nothing is every outside of His power. My affection for you, I know has come from Christ and I feel His warm welcoming love flowing through me every day to you. That is the only way I can explain the fact that I have continued to fall in love with you all more each day. Loving this body of Christ has been one of my greatest joys, greatest struggles, and richest blessings.
I know and have felt the fact God is in control and has great things in store for us because the darts and temptations of Satan in my life alone have been more than I was prepared for. Only through the grace, mercy, and power of Christ have I withstood many of Satan's attacks. Satan is ready and watching and does not want us or myself to succeed it loving and serving God. I continually pray not only for myself to withstand the attacks of the devil but all the more for you as you seek to live each day in the devil's playground. Only together, under the power and control of God, can we move in following God and resist the ways of the evil one.
I pray for you all daily and hurt when you hurt. I know as we seek the future, only together, will God lead us for His glory. Growing more like our Savior has been a joy each day as you have continued to stretch me with your questions, conflicts, and lives. I pray that I will continue to love you all the more and that God will give me the wisdom that only He can give as I seek to lead and guide us into the future. My love for you grows and I pray and trust the God of love that you, my dear ones will feel my love and compassion for you. Many of you have become my friends and as I walk with you it brings me great joy to live and love with you.
. It brings me great delight to know and see that many of
you are deep in your faith and walk with Jesus and many more desire and
progress in a forward direction. God makes it clear from His Word, that not
only are we called to put on many traits that are from Jesus, which are given
to us in the power of the Holy Spirit, but we are also called to take off many
of the worldly and sinful traits that we have outside of our lives with Jesus.
It brings me joy knowing and seeing many of you put off as well as put on and
knowing this has truly made my serves for Jesus, that much more enjoyable. I
wish to write to you though today about a trait I desire for more of us to put
on in our walk with God.
Many of us know the traits we are called to put on as they are commonly known as the fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The trait that I pray we put more on in our lives together is faithfulness. When many of us think of faithfulness we think of faith in Jesus and His death for us. This type of faith is a great faith and I have seen many in our faith family have this type of faith. A faith in Jesus is the first step that any person must take in their relationship with Jesus. Faith is a foundation for the Christian walk and a Christian cannot live this life without having faith. As the Apostle Paul would say, we are justified before God because of our faith and this faith is a great virtue that is essential to our walk with God.
But this faith must also present itself in action. This action and visible faith is again sometimes labeled and shown through commitment. Commitment in faith is a virtue that I pray we have more of. Being committed to Jesus is not always easy. In a world that is self focused and all bout self gratification, commitment to Jesus is a hard thing to put on. But commitment to Jesus is something that deepens our walk. When we commit ourselves to regular church attendance, loving one another deeper, striving for faithfulness in our walk and testimony, and reliance on the work of the Gospel, we present ourselves worthy of the Gospel and lights to the world. I pray for you all daily that your love for Jesus will deepen so that your commitment to Him and His bride, the church, will grow.
So, I am calling and praying for you, brothers and sisters I love to put on a deeper faith and stronger commitment to Jesus and His church. I pray that many of us will make a stronger desire to gather together and spend more time with each other. I pray that many will desire to be at church more and having a stronger love for one another. I pray that many will take their faith deeper and understand that the world will see our Savior through our actions and words. Many times good things can be shown in a bad light and bad thing we justify for a good reason. I pray for many of you daily to take your faith deeper and grow in your commitment to Jesus, each others, and the church. Faith is vital and faith in action through a deeper commitment is just has vital.
Many of us know the traits we are called to put on as they are commonly known as the fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The trait that I pray we put more on in our lives together is faithfulness. When many of us think of faithfulness we think of faith in Jesus and His death for us. This type of faith is a great faith and I have seen many in our faith family have this type of faith. A faith in Jesus is the first step that any person must take in their relationship with Jesus. Faith is a foundation for the Christian walk and a Christian cannot live this life without having faith. As the Apostle Paul would say, we are justified before God because of our faith and this faith is a great virtue that is essential to our walk with God.
But this faith must also present itself in action. This action and visible faith is again sometimes labeled and shown through commitment. Commitment in faith is a virtue that I pray we have more of. Being committed to Jesus is not always easy. In a world that is self focused and all bout self gratification, commitment to Jesus is a hard thing to put on. But commitment to Jesus is something that deepens our walk. When we commit ourselves to regular church attendance, loving one another deeper, striving for faithfulness in our walk and testimony, and reliance on the work of the Gospel, we present ourselves worthy of the Gospel and lights to the world. I pray for you all daily that your love for Jesus will deepen so that your commitment to Him and His bride, the church, will grow.
So, I am calling and praying for you, brothers and sisters I love to put on a deeper faith and stronger commitment to Jesus and His church. I pray that many of us will make a stronger desire to gather together and spend more time with each other. I pray that many will desire to be at church more and having a stronger love for one another. I pray that many will take their faith deeper and understand that the world will see our Savior through our actions and words. Many times good things can be shown in a bad light and bad thing we justify for a good reason. I pray for many of you daily to take your faith deeper and grow in your commitment to Jesus, each others, and the church. Faith is vital and faith in action through a deeper commitment is just has vital.
So, the joy of loving you as been the fact that many of
you are walking intimately with God and staying true to His desires for your
lives. When I pray over you and serve God together with you I have seen many of
the qualities that God desires and it has been a joy to see you add more of
Jesus to your lives. The call to put on more of Jesus, as I have said earlier,
has been a great blessing because you all continue to do that. But like I have
already stated, taking off the sin and life of this world is much harder. Many
of you have put much on and the fruit of the Spirit is evident in all. But
putting off much of this world and its distractions and desires is another
matter. I desire much more from you and so does God, so the next few words I
say are hard to say but they are a call from God, a plea from God, to be a holy
people, separate and different than the world.
So, there are many things that I find we are like the world. We are called to be a people that are separate and different from the world. This means that we as a church must view marriage and divorce different than the world. It is a sad day when the church as a whole is worse in marriage than the world. Marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman and as God designed in Genesis, is a covenant that last for the life of the person. Marriage is not something that God says we can give up on or cut the cord in if things go bad. Marriage is a faithful covenant that is made between people and is a choice that must always be chosen in love. If we view marriage and act in marriage just like the rest of the world we are no different and not living lives of holiness and obedience to God and His word. Marriage is sacred and must be treated so not something that can be put to the side if we feel like giving up or not working at. Our view on marriage and history on marriage must change.
Another area that I find us looking too much like the world is our mouths. Our tongue can be used for love or as a weapon. When we talk like the world with our attitude or words it does not honor God. When we talk in judgment or with venom to one another, we are talking like the world. When we gossip, slander, or saying lies about each other, we are just like and sometimes even worse than the sinful world. God calls us to use our mouths first to honor Him and to glorify Jesus with our speech. Then God calls us to use our tongues to say sweet, kind, and loving words to each other in the faith family. Finally God calls us to use our lips to get the Gospel and news of Jesus out into the world. When we use our tongues instead to talk bad, say unkind words, or speak like the world, we are sinning and hurting our Savior. WE are called to use our words and tongues for love not sin.
I know these words are hard to read and hear. These words are hard to swallow and tough to hear but God knows, to be a lover of Jesus is a tough life to live. Being a follower of the Way requires and calls for a life that reflects that way. It is vital and eternally critical that we live lives that are different than those around us living in sin. We are called to be a holy people that are chosen by God. The Christian life is a life that is different and a life that is called to put off the world and its way. So I pray and plead with you now to put on Jesus and put off the world.
So, there are many things that I find we are like the world. We are called to be a people that are separate and different from the world. This means that we as a church must view marriage and divorce different than the world. It is a sad day when the church as a whole is worse in marriage than the world. Marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman and as God designed in Genesis, is a covenant that last for the life of the person. Marriage is not something that God says we can give up on or cut the cord in if things go bad. Marriage is a faithful covenant that is made between people and is a choice that must always be chosen in love. If we view marriage and act in marriage just like the rest of the world we are no different and not living lives of holiness and obedience to God and His word. Marriage is sacred and must be treated so not something that can be put to the side if we feel like giving up or not working at. Our view on marriage and history on marriage must change.
Another area that I find us looking too much like the world is our mouths. Our tongue can be used for love or as a weapon. When we talk like the world with our attitude or words it does not honor God. When we talk in judgment or with venom to one another, we are talking like the world. When we gossip, slander, or saying lies about each other, we are just like and sometimes even worse than the sinful world. God calls us to use our mouths first to honor Him and to glorify Jesus with our speech. Then God calls us to use our tongues to say sweet, kind, and loving words to each other in the faith family. Finally God calls us to use our lips to get the Gospel and news of Jesus out into the world. When we use our tongues instead to talk bad, say unkind words, or speak like the world, we are sinning and hurting our Savior. WE are called to use our words and tongues for love not sin.
I know these words are hard to read and hear. These words are hard to swallow and tough to hear but God knows, to be a lover of Jesus is a tough life to live. Being a follower of the Way requires and calls for a life that reflects that way. It is vital and eternally critical that we live lives that are different than those around us living in sin. We are called to be a holy people that are chosen by God. The Christian life is a life that is different and a life that is called to put off the world and its way. So I pray and plead with you now to put on Jesus and put off the world.
One thing that I feel we do very well in but still have
much room to improve on is unity. God is a being of unity and is unified throughout
all 3 of His beings, being Father, Son, and Spirit. God in His mission was
unified and in His design and plan for the church was unified. Jesus in is
prayer in John 17 prays for unity. Paul lists it as an attribute that the
church must have. The Gospel is a story of good news that is unified around
grace. Unity is an attribute that is everywhere and an attribute that every
church must have.
We as a church do have unity. We love each other, care for each other, and spread the gospel with great work. We care for one another and do not disagree in many matters. We are a church body of love that is warm and welcoming. Unity is in the core of who our church is and we are very good in many ways. We have unified over the spread of the Gospel. We have come together in many ministries and in the reaching of children, unity together in the work has taken place. We do unity very well.
But I also feel that we can do much better at unity. We find many times that we think church is about us. We forget that church is about God, Jesus, and the mission. Church will never be about us and the minute we find that we think church is about us, we leave unity behind. When the music becomes about us, we are not unified. When the sermons and teaching times become about what we want to hear, unity is not in us. When other ministries like men's. women's, and children's, become what we want to see, unity is not part of who we are. When we use our mouths to harm one another or say unkind words, unity is a problem. In many ways we lack unity and need to pray for unity more in us. Jesus was about unity in His church, which He bought with His blood. If we love Jesus, we must follow is example and be unified around Him.
So, to those whom I appreciate beyond words, I write these things to you all not to judge you but to love you all the more. To bring joy to our Savior with our lives. To spread the Gospel to the world father. And to bring us closer together, because only together can we bring about a change in our lives for Jesus and a change in our community for Jesus. I pray that you all feel my love and affection for you in these words and I I pray that these words and our lives glorify our Savior and Lord.
We as a church do have unity. We love each other, care for each other, and spread the gospel with great work. We care for one another and do not disagree in many matters. We are a church body of love that is warm and welcoming. Unity is in the core of who our church is and we are very good in many ways. We have unified over the spread of the Gospel. We have come together in many ministries and in the reaching of children, unity together in the work has taken place. We do unity very well.
But I also feel that we can do much better at unity. We find many times that we think church is about us. We forget that church is about God, Jesus, and the mission. Church will never be about us and the minute we find that we think church is about us, we leave unity behind. When the music becomes about us, we are not unified. When the sermons and teaching times become about what we want to hear, unity is not in us. When other ministries like men's. women's, and children's, become what we want to see, unity is not part of who we are. When we use our mouths to harm one another or say unkind words, unity is a problem. In many ways we lack unity and need to pray for unity more in us. Jesus was about unity in His church, which He bought with His blood. If we love Jesus, we must follow is example and be unified around Him.
So, to those whom I appreciate beyond words, I write these things to you all not to judge you but to love you all the more. To bring joy to our Savior with our lives. To spread the Gospel to the world father. And to bring us closer together, because only together can we bring about a change in our lives for Jesus and a change in our community for Jesus. I pray that you all feel my love and affection for you in these words and I I pray that these words and our lives glorify our Savior and Lord.
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